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I honestly don't know. People with aged stainless sinks shouldn't be trying to get mirror finishes. Some new sinks are polished that way but it won't last unless you get into polishing compounds like custom car & motorcycle people work with.

but I just sand mine with wet dry sand paper that is very fine, (have a sink in the back porch and it gets everything in it, and one some occasions I just grab a piece of sanding paper and sand off the stain, (I sand with the brushed finish)

I use barkeepers Friend in the barn on the stainless steel sinks in the meat cutting room, and counters,

Push sticks/blocks Save Fingers
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Stainless steel is easy to maintain if properly cleaned using comet or something similar and always cleaning with the grain. It can be kept looking brand new forever this way.
The flip side is that it is also very easy to forever screw up the finish in just a few moments. Cleaning with an abrasive against the grain messes up the finish, but as already noted using a chemical drain cleaner.....you are probably screwed unless you put in some major elbow grease and get lucky.
Chemical drain cleaner to save a buck...heh heh

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Steel wool would be bad I think. It will clean it, but ti will scratch and you will be imparting iron (from the steel) into the stainless, which can cause rust stains. A woven synthetic pad like a ScotchBrite would be better I think.

For sinks that are already scratched up a bit I have always used one with a circular pattern on the bottom of the sink, and I go around the sidewalls in clockwise and counter-clocker-wise (who used to say that, do you know) motion, not up/down, on the top or flat surfaces no abrasive cleaners or pads, just a cloth and some liquid soap. This way any scratches are less visible.

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There are stainless steel cleaners out there that give a polished shine and will make it look new. A long, long time ago I used to work for a pizza company one of those ones that had an open kitchen so the kids can see you toss the pizza. Anyways we had to keep the sinks and counters looking good so we used a polish that does not transfer to food or hands it also cleans. I don't remember the name of it but if you did some research I know you could find it.

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Mineral spirits do a good job of polishing stainless steel after its been thoroughly cleaned. There is a cleaner available called "organic orange TKO" and one of the things it cleans is stainless steel. Tried it on my sink and it works pretty good. most of the time i just use hot water, dish soap and scotch brite pad.

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I have a stainless steel sink too and have this form of rusts. My friend had told me to use this water treatment for rust by using a special rust-removing chemical. These commercial products all help eliminate rust build-up in our stainless steel sinks. Why don’t you try it, maybe it will help.